The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-06-01
i BLIND INNESTOH.
II Magazine Gun aud other
Things Without The Aid Of sight.

tGngiish Letter from Vienna
| have had the opportunity of meeting
the inventor of II new rifle, Herr Franz
FortCika, former lieutenant in the
Austrian army, who, during the first
campaign iii Bosinn, received shot in
his right eye, which destroyed the optic
nerve, and, indirectly, SO affected the left
eye That th" poor officer, now only IS
years GA, has hcCu for the last Enc
years totally blind. But without the use
OF has oycaight this ingenious man has
invented during these years not ONLY a
new magazine gun, but also two ma
chimes FOR tho Dnti-oXidatlon Of iron,
atccl and other metals at Il cost which
must hC called Yidiculously small; furth-
cr, an apparatus for autumatical nap
ping, new mlcrOmctcr, Il new sort of
gunpONder, not to speak Of smaller in.
ventOnS which found their way into the
lesser industrial establishments Of Vienna
amt saved the Inventor from starvation,
rs his great discoveries, far from bring
ng h III money as yet, uccusSitAtc an
outlay " men Hr can afford only by cX-
trynv personal prlyriions. Only rifle, ="
complained the unfortunate inventor.
"woUiu have long been in the hands Of
the British government had the advanced
money which had obtained from a
private person in London been more
than C2O, which did not suffice for the
wages OF ono workman, who assists me-
and the necessary material
'NOw ut last it is finished, and though
! may fall into the fault Of all inventors,
| consider 1t the best rifle existing, being
without the disadvantages OF other ma
chime rifles, and with many ADVANTAGES
over them. can prove by my Austrian
and German patents OF some five years
ago that the straight pull system which
distinguishes every modern iic, and in
itself, without the machine, secures the
double effect, has been my invention.
Upon this and upon other appropria.
tions III the line by different successful
inventors ! do not lay any.strcss. There
is my new rifle, which, III short, has the
following advantages: 1t can be used as
IL single loader even with all attached
magazine; cartridges are not thrown into
the magazine in loose form, but lie one
above the other, without the possibility
Of placing them wrongly; the magazine
can be attached or not at will; all parts
are solid, no spiral spring exists in the
rifle; the price OF my weapon with roy
nLty aud everything else will be mt.rr
@. Every old system, with the cxcep-
ton of WcrdPa, can be used for trans
formation into my rifle at Il cost Of 8 or
10 shillings-lcss in the case of Gras,
Mausor, Bordan or Beaumont, and
something moro in the case of Henry
Martini"
"And how can you make any inyen-
ton, especially such Il complicated one
as rifle, without, unfortunately, being
able to see the separate parts, and how
are your devices carried out by the work
mem"
81 sec with my fingers. And not in
one single case have thoy deceived me.
It's really curious that when great and
minute measurements arc in question,
those who sec with their Dyes are wrong,
aud |, with the use of my fingers, aln
right. The models for my machine t
against oxidation of metals were entirely
made bv myself from carved wood, with
the help Of a s.ring, wire and bread
crumbs. i am now devsing a very com.
plicated electric apparatus"